Review: In The Company of Thieves by Kage Baker

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review, my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

I admit, sometimes I’m pretty shallow when it comes to picking a book to read. I judge by the covers (both the front and the back). The cover to ‘In the Company of Thieves’ pulled at me and I just knew that I had to read it.

I was sad to learn that Kage Baker had passed on, and even sadder once I read the first short story in this series. It involves a robotic entity who does nothing but observe time as it passes. Down the same streets, the same city. Eventually he starts to watch and observe a woman who visits a specific park each day. She fights for the restoration of the park but no one listens to her. He watches as she becomes thinner, and thinner, and eventually she dies from her illness. It was a sad yet touching story, filled with emotion and compassion, more so once I heard of the authors own death. Funny how things can touch us that way.

The stories were chosen by the authors sister once she had passed on, and that is probably the reason why they seem to ‘hit home’ as it were. There are six short stories total and while the later ones involve a setting that Kage Baker is known for, the first ones are a bit all over the place. This isn’t a bad thing, it just left me a bit confused as I naturally looked for a tie-in between stories. I loved the writing style and the steampunk-esc settings, but still found myself wanting a bit ‘more’ out of each short story.

The book came out in 2013, so if you’re a fan of Kage Baker or are looking for some new short stories to delve into, this makes for a great choice and it certainly left me with the desire to check out some of her other work.

3.5/5 stars

Review: Board Stiff by Piers Anthony

This book was given to me as an ARC for an honest review from NetGalley.

The world of Xanth is made of puns – and a virus threatens those puns. Of course before you get to the main story of the book you’re introduced to Kandy, a woman who is turned into a literal board of wood at a wishing well. Thankfully she doesn’t have to suffer too long, as she meets up with the love of her life. Being a board, things get complicated, quickly.

The two meet up with other characters along the way, including Com Pewter, and a basilisk. They partake in a quest to get rid of the virus, and meet up with many colourful characters along the way.

The book was highly sexualized and it felt almost needless. It was amusing hearing about men ‘freaking out’ and freezing any time they saw a flash of panties, but it felt like an overused mechanic that was just tossed in there randomly. I really enjoyed the world of Xanth, and the puns made me cackle in delight but again I felt the sex was something that was just thrown about whenever the author wanted a bit of shock value (which was often). Had these parts been left out of the book I would have personally enjoyed it a lot more.

Thankfully there are a few redeeming characters you meet up with along the way, and enough interest to keep wanting to read about the quest and see if the group is finally successful. If you’re familiar with the world of Xanth and the writing style of Piers Anthony then you may want to give this book a try, but otherwise it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

3 / 5 stars

Currently Reading

I have more books on my plate at one time than I usually do, and it’s for a few reasons. Number one as I already mentioned earlier this week, I’m trying out audiobooks, and I’ve started with Moby Dick by Herman Melville, so that’s on my ‘currently reading’ list even though technically I’m listening to it.

I also have a few ARCs on my list (advanced review copy) and even though some of the books have already released, I’m still looking forward to reading them and posting a review. Those books include:

In the Company of Thieves, by Kage Baker.

Board Stiff, by Piers Anthony (I’m almost done this one, so expect a review up soon).

Then for my own reading pleasure and quiet time I’m reading Pride and Prejudice, which I never read in school for some reason.

After those are cleared from my plate I’ll be moving on to The Sundering book 2, 3, and 4 – all of which are ARCs. Even though the books are part of the same series, they’re written by different authors, and each author incorporates their main character into the story. The first book was The Companions by R.A. Salvatore, which I reviewed here on Nomadic Reader last year.

There are (at the moment) 77 books in my to-read pile and I would love to lower that to a more reasonable number throughout the year. Of course it’s a very GOOD problem to have and I’m not exactly complaining, I just need a lot more hours in the day to dedicate towards reading!

Are You Waiting for a Book Release?

I was reading a really neat post over at one of my favorite book review sites, Bibliosanctum, when it dawned on me. I’m actually NOT waiting for any books to release this year. I don’t even know how that happened, normally there is a book or two coming out that I just can’t wait to get my hands on but this year feels a little empty. Have I fallen out of love with my favorite authors? I don’t think so. Looking over some of the books that are scheduled the only one that even draws my attention is Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence which isn’t due out until June. Likewise, there’s The Thorn of Emberlain (Gentleman Bastard #4) by one of my favorite authors, Scott Lynch, but we won’t see that one until around November.

There are a few books releasing some time in the future by more of my favorites that I certainly want to read, but most of them have no publication date yet. One of the books I’m most looking forward to would have to be Doors of Stone, by Patrick Rothfuss.

Of course part of this issue I’m experiencing may have to do with the fact that I’ve been reading a lot of classics, and lets face it there’s not a lot of anticipation in releases when the authors have been dead for a number of years. Is there a book or two releasing in 2014 that you’re waiting on with high anticipation? Leave a comment and let me know!

Audiobooks?

I have to admit, I’ve never really been a fan of audiobooks before. I found them difficult to listen to and they put me to sleep more often than not, no matter what the book was or who the reader. This year I’ve vowed to give them a second chance, and try to get into the audiobook culture a bit more. There’s a few reasons I want to do this but the biggest reason is pretty basic, I can’t always dedicate as much time to reading as I would like. Lets face it, we’ve all got busy lives and while we may be able to fit in some time here and there on a daily basis, is it really enough? Of course not! Instead of listening to the radio all day long while I work at my standing desk, I want to try audiobooks. Will I stick with it? Who knows, but I want to give it a proper effort.

There are lots of places you can get audiobooks these days. Two very popular options I was given are Audible (now owned by amazon) and LibriVox. Of course the hardest part of listening to an audiobook is not finding a book that you want to listen to – but finding a voice who can read the book you want to listen to – well. You want someone who can pronounce names and places, who doesn’t read in a strict monotone, and who you can actually understand. Thankfully Audible lets listeners vote and comment, so you won’t be thrust into a horrible situation unaware. LibriVox is a bit touch and go, especially as all readers are volunteers but there are a lot of gems.

Right now I’ve picked up Moby Dick from LibriVox, since I’ve never read it before. The reader is fantastic, and I’m on chapter 7 so far and haven’t fallen asleep. That’s a good sign for me. I’ve never been much of a podcast listener for the exact same reason.

Have other audiobook suggestions? Any sites or books that you just absolutely fell in love with? Let me know in comments!

Thoughts on the Kindle Paperwhite

This Christmas I received a kindle paperwhite from my other half, much to my surprise. I had an older kindle that I used pretty much every single day, and was incredibly excited to have it upgraded. There was nothing wrong with the older model, but I really disliked having to light up the entire bedroom with various reading lights in order to read in bed. It had wifi but was not touch, and had a large keyboard along the bottom portion of the reader. Still, it served me well.

The new kindle paperwhite is a touch screen version. There is also a light built into the e-reader and it has about 15 different settings so no matter what sort of lighting you’re dealing with you should be able to read. It also doesn’t come off as obnoxious so you shouldn’t wake up or disturb anyone who may be around you. It is about the same size as my old kindle, and the price was reasonable. I also love the new Goodreads integration, very easy to set up and jump right in.

One issue I do seem to have is the power supply. The device is advertised to last up to 8 weeks with wifi turned off, so I decided to test that out. Mine only seems to last a few days before I need to charge it back up. This isn’t a deal breaker for me since I’m rarely away from a place that I can charge it up, but I’m wondering if it’s just my kindle or if this is a common issue. Since the device is more powerful than the previous one I would expect that it consumes more power, but I wasn’t prepared for how fast it seems to drain.

I also found it came with a lot of bloat but it was easy enough to remove. I don’t need instructions written in 15 different languages, or the dictionary. I use Calibre to keep my e-reader library organized, and it also does a great job of converting different ebook formats.

Besides my PC, the kindle is probably the most used device in my house. A lot of people talk about how they miss the scent of ‘real’ books, the feeling of the pages and the weight in their hands but personally speaking I am glad to free up some room in the house. Books collect a lot of dust, and I just don’t have the room for the amount of stuff that I read. One thing I would like to do is to start collecting signed books. So far I have zero books in that collection but it has always been a dream of mine.

Do you use an ereader? Have a favorite? Let me know in comments!

Review: The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan

It is rare that I come across a book that a good portion of my friends list on Goodreads has read or wants to read, but this book fit both categories. It has been on my to-read pile for quite a while, and over the holidays I finally got to it – and I’m glad I did. The base story isn’t anything unique but sometimes when I’m reading that’s not a quality I absolutely must have in my book.

It follows the story of a young woman who is born with the powers of an untrained magician. She lives in the slums and one day while she is out with a gang trying to avoid the purge she accidentally releases those powers and the city magicians take notice. From there the book goes into great detail about the guild trying to catch her so they can properly train her powers, and the steps she takes to avoid them. Her friends rally to her side, and the thieves guild eventually agrees to help hide her (of course they want something in return).

It was simple, quirky, and interesting, which is exactly what I was in the mood for. The story was compelling enough that I picked up the other books to the series, and I’m interested in seeing how it unfolds. While the first half of the book is filled with her adventures in avoiding the magician’s guild, the second half is trying to get her on their side (and of course she meets up with some shady characters along the way). I think I enjoyed the first half better, mainly because I fell in love with the thieves guild and their leader. I would have loved to have read more about that particular group of characters and their stories. The second half was interesting too but it was also more structured and dare I say it, boring?

If you’re looking for an easy going fantasy book I would certainly recommend checking this one out. It’s one of those small hidden treasures that I’m glad my friends suggested.

3.5 / 5 stars

Review: The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

From time to time I really enjoy reading a good historical romance, and The Duke of Shadows offered me just that. You first meet up with Emmaline Martin as her world is torn apart while she travels from Britain to India. She is to meet her betrothed but along the way deals with incredible heartache that leaves her falling for Julian instead. The book takes place in the 1800s and if you’re tired of meek mellow women as main characters – then this is the book for you.

I had a hard time putting it down, I’m pretty sure I read all of it in two days or so. The characters are richly detailed and the story is so incredible that you can’t help but continue along trying to find out what happens next. Writing about the British rule in India is certainly not an easy topic and the story was actually believable, while being both entertaining and horrifying at the same time. The author doesn’t dance around the acts of violence that took place, but at the same time there is a harmonious balance between those acts and everything else going on. Of course there are also some pretty detailed sex scenes, it is, after all, a romance book. If you enjoy historical romance at all I highly recommend giving this book a read.

4.5 / 5 stars

Lets Play Reading Bingo

Randomhouse.ca is hosting their yearly Reading Bingo challenge and while I found out about it too late last year to participate, I decided that 2014 I would be sure to get involved. They have also added a Young Adult bingo card to the game this year, perfect for teenagers. Of course it’s all just for fun, but it’s a great way to branch out into books that you might not normally give a chance.

Of course reading any book at all is fantastic, but I tend to get a bit bored reading the same genre each month. Some times I’m not exactly feeling creative and this bingo card gives you some great motivation to go out and find something new.

Each time I complete one of the squares on the card I’ll be sure to post about it here. Right now I have started with the bottom left corner – a book your friend loves. That happens to be Moby Dick which I have never read before but have heard many good things about it from one of my friends. Will I enjoy it as much as him? We’ll just have to see!

Review: To Tuscany with Love by Gail Mencini

I received this book as an ARC for an honest and open review from NetGalley

“Two Turban-clad men with dark complexions looked at the four students with obvious disdain.”

I read as far as that paragraph, and then stopped, knowing full well that if I continued to read I would just get frustrated and upset (turns out I was right, after I browsed through the remainder of the chapter). What was supposed to be an “adult coming of age” novel instead was a book filled with every sort of stereotype known to man, exemplified, along with racism.

It starts off with a group of American students traveling abroad. Each student has a very defined stereotypical personality. There’s the fat nerd (who actually has a boyfriend), the blond twins, the rebel, jock, etc. There is nothing unique to any of their personalities, and the entire story follows one stereotype after another. When the novel isn’t busy slamming people in this manner I felt it made no sense, having little at all to do with the actual story. It felt incredibly disjointed.

I also found it rude when the students started on the train to Paris and then the book launched into how these “Middle Eastern turban wearing men” were probably carrying bombs in their luggage and so the students had every right to search through their bags. It felt unrealistic and incredibly racist.

This book was certainly not what I was expecting or hoping for.

1/5 stars